Balague: Barca have not contacted City over Robinho

Whilst Spanish papers have been full of reports claiming Robinho is on his way to Barcelona, a piece on Guillem Balague’s web site says the Catalan club have made no contact with City since the Summer regarding Robinho.

Balague is more reliable than most when it comes to possible transfers between Spanish clubs and City. He points out that Barca don’t have the £30+ million it would take to sign Robinho in January. Barca’s debts are often overlooked as many people tend to focus on the spending by Madrid, but some estimates claim it is over 400 million euros (which is not a figure the Barca bean counters are prone to confirm in public).

The piece says Barca take City seriously as a club and would not ask for a loan move out of respect, given that City do not want to sell. It goes on to echo my point that selling Robinho would send out the wrong message, in terms of City looking to establish themselves as a club with world class players.

The only concern is the extent to which Robinho himself may be tempted. We should have a better idea once he’s fully fit and challenging for a place in the team.